


BTS' ND Moments

by Mathews_OT7



Category: Psychology - Fandom, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: IRL BTS, Other, Psychology, case study, non-fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:08:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25032958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mathews_OT7/pseuds/Mathews_OT7
Summary: Hello! I'm Mathew, The Author, I am studying my 2nd year in Psychology after 4/5 years in medical sciences, and it's currently summer break, and I appear to be missing my studies, because my ARMY self have written a rough case study into BTS' Neurodivergent moments and features. This is about IRL BTS, this is NOT A FIC. DISCLAIMER: Nothing I say should be taken seriously, and I am not diagnosing anyone with anything, nor implying anything negative. Neurodivergence is natural, normal and unique to each person, it doesn't make anyone any lesser! Please take what I write as not a means to insult, as I never would insult BTS, or ANYONE for that manner, ESPECIALLY with Neurodivergent language!I think that's enough to type... enjoy!
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I'm The Author, I am studying my 2nd year in Psychology after 4/5 years in medical sciences, and it's currently summer break, and I appear to be missing my studies, because my ARMY self have written a rough case study into BTS' Neurodivergent moments and features. This is about IRL BTS, this is NOT A FIC. DISCLAIMER: Nothing I say should be taken seriously, and I am not diagnosing anyone with anything, nor implying anything negative. Neurodivergence is natural, normal and unique to each person, it doesn't make anyone any lesser! Please take what I write as not a means to insult, as I never would insult BTS, or ANYONE for that manner, ESPECIALLY with Neurodivergent language!
> 
> I think that's enough to type... enjoy!

Neurodivergence means any type of mental state that differs from Neurotypical, which many may consider “normal”. I dislike using the term “normal”, as Neurodivergence suggest entirely “abnormal”. I believe a VERY important thing to note, is that, yes, despite there being some cases of neurodivergence which is indeed very unique (such as savant syndrome etc), a lot of conditions that are considered neurodivergence does NOT change a person, or make them “abnormal”. As well as this, “normal” is very very subjective, and that I personally believe there is no “normal”. Every human being is very uniquely them, with different building blocks, especially in their mental states and brains.

To develop some context for something I’m going to bring up a lot, there is considered to be a very interconnected amount of neurodivergent conditions, as shown in the diagram below:  
https://imgur.com/gallery/JAHMIlE

Even though you see Autistic Spectrum Disorder, or ASD, in the middle, each of the conditions in the side bubbles could swap with ASD to take place in the middle. What this means, is that with every condition within these bubbles, the other ones around it are more prone to also be diagnosed or symptoms spotted within the individual, perhaps even features or symptoms, but not enough for a proper diagnosis. Let’s use myself as an example. I have ASD, perhaps that may be why I specifically found the diagram with my condition in the middle. I also have diagnosed Anxiety, considered recovered from diagnosed depression with occasional depressive spells in present day, and formally noted within my country’s educational board to have Dyscalculia, an uncommon maths based dyslexia which has no formal diagnosis path as of yet. I also present features of ADD and OCD, but I have deemed not enough features to warrant diagnosis.  
That is another important note to make. You will hear me say that members display “features” of this or that condition, and that basically will usually mean that they display a commonality with someone who has that condition, or a “symptom” or, well, feature, but that that doesn’t necessarily mean that if they were to be tested, they would receive a diagnosis. Let’s again, use myself as an example. My cousin, should she be tested for autism, would not meet the quotient for diagnosis, despite sharing some direct similarities to how my condition presents within me. In the past, some psychological condition diagnosis tests ran on a points based system, different symptoms gaining certain points, and if you didn’t reach a certain number of points in the different categories, you were unlikely to get a formal diagnosis, but could perhaps have it noted that you had “features” or “tendencies”. I have seen before written on patient information in my studies that someone had “OCD tendencies” but without a diagnosis of OCD, and right enough, she needed to count how many buttons were on remotes before using them, and turn the lights on and off twice, before she slept. 

Before I digress any further, let’s carry on with looking at the boys! If you are a fan of another group, I am beginning to watch other groups, so I may have some insight here and there, but I feel way more comfortable talking on BTS as I have been with them for a very very long time and observed a lot of them. 

An important disclaimer leading from that is that all I can comment on is the content we see, i.e in front of a camera. Perhaps there are some exceptions, such as hidden camera moments, or times where the members kind of relax despite camera presence, but the truth is is that we may never know what they’re properly like behind closed doors! So please do not take what I say as seriously what they must be like at all times, or that I’m diagnosing anyone with anything, because I am not. Their medical history and mental health is their own business, and I am not intending to dig into it, or drag any of it out. If they have a diagnosis of anything or not, is not what I aim to speculate, but rather note features that they display. Thank you! 

Now let's move onto our Leader - Kim Namjoon! :)


	2. Kim Namjoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talking about Kim Namjoon's ND moments ! :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare for long reads for many of them by the way >_< I'm still to finish 5 member's case studies and I'm at page 13... and this is just a rough draft... oops
> 
> I might expand further on a lot of the members, but in particular Namjoon. Please consider this but a draft.

**Masking, Stimming and Sensory Observation** **  
** Kim Namjoon is a very very interesting person to observe and make notes on, because he already, to put bluntly and comically,  _ has a lot of fuel under that head of his _ . His high IQ can be conducive to either masking or showing certain aspects of his neurological state and mental health. To use myself as example, Namjoon and I actually share the same IQ score, and after long-term observation, we discovered that my IQ helped mask my ASD well into adulthood, a capability to navigate base social situations such as small talk, coming off charismatic to base friendships etc, having learned from people around me, but made it near impossible to navigate deeper friendships and deeper social situations which was new or more complex. It made me capable of doubling the words per minute most people can type, but makes me overthink numbers and maths to the point where I failed my country’s basic maths exam four times before passing with a B grade after appropriate support and dyscalculia diagnosis was found. When thinking in context to Namjoon, if this were the case, I could totally believe that his capability to learn languages and his inability to process high speed games is very much a similar bag. What I’m trying to say is that high IQ can be conducive to a faster brain, but that that isn’t usually going to be a fully good or fully bad thing. This can cause difficulty in diagnosing conditions, as most symptoms in different conditions’ “guidebooks”, so to say, will have been found from someone with a more average IQ score, unless it’s a condition that commonly features high IQ, such as Savant Syndrome. Do I believe Kim Namjoon masks? Yes, for sure. But the fact of the matter is that probably around 90% of idols perform some form of masking, under societal and showbusiness pressure. Even how he acts at awards shows usually differs very very much from how we see him in vlives in their dorm or even on RUN BTS. Being around his members helps lower the amount he feels he has to mask, but that it isn’t always fully gone. Him presenting himself the way he does is chosen, and some may be surprised to see how he would act when no one is around him. His favourite place is secluded, and quiet, and he likes going alone. He enjoys his own company for the sake of recharging his batteries, which is one feature of typical neurodivergent conditions. A lot of people go out with friends and have fun to recharge their batteries, but neurodivergent people, despite some maybe finding going out with friends fun, typically  _ need _ some time alone at some point to recharge their mental batteries. This allows time to essentially regain a stronger ability to mask again when out, lowers stress, and recharges mental tolerance of a situation. WIthout that resting time, one can be found to cave easier in distressing situations or find situations that were once manageable not, which can show in a variety of ways, commonly in people with ASD this can display as meltdowns. Meltdowns, in actuality, aren't always loud, crying and violent. In fact, I personally believe more people think meltdowns are violent than there are people who have violent meltdowns. It’s a very common misconception. There are also people who have silent meltdowns, or freeze responses. Meltdowns and anxiety attacks can come across outwardly as very similar, but typically have different triggers. Using myself again, anxiety attacks for me happen with fear of public judgement, ergo being out in public places could cause them, whereas meltdowns are triggered for me by an overwhelming feeling of discomfort, typically from sound or touch sensation, so typically is more simply when something is too pressured in touch, or something too loud, will start me off crying. I will get to silent meltdowns again later on with another member, as I’ve noted it’s way more likely with them, but returning to Namjoon - I do believe that we have seen very well masked moments of anxiety or being overwhelmed from him. Not quite to the level I'd call them meltdowns, lest it seem I'm linking ASD with him (which I'm not). The members have said that it takes a lot for Namjoon to cry, or that he is one of the last members to do so, unless it’s from empathy’s sake, such as when Jungkook cries. Personal stress triggers will of course be getting to him, but he tries to mask away the issue until it reaches a boiling point. This can be seen on a more positive and more common Namjoon side too, his excitement. Namjoon gets very easily excitable, but tries to mask away the majority of what he’s feeling, but when it becomes too much excitement, he has to output something to deal with overwhelming excitement. This is known as “stimming”, and is common in ASD, ADHD, Tourettes and people with sensory based conditions. Stimming acts as a means to steer away from being overwhelmed by something, for example when I eat it’s very overwhelming as I feel one of my airways close off. I know I can still breathe, but it just increases my stress for a while, even if it’s something really yummy like chocolate lava cake, I can’t help but stim. When I eat, it’s typically rubbing my legs while I eat. You will notice not many neurodivergent people can stay fully still while eating actually. I’m not sure what that says about the boys lol.    
  
Here are some examples of Namjoon adorably stimming from excitement:   
[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC_AzB4orHg **  
** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC_AzB4orHg) Namjoon actually does 2 very very commonly seen stims from seeing the cake, which is jumping, more commonly seen in children with conditions such as this (which is adorable), and flapping his hands.   
  
[ https://youtu.be/m22DNGKbvwo?t=347   
](https://youtu.be/m22DNGKbvwo?t=347) I ensured this starts at 5:47, but this whole video is filled with all kinds of cute little uniquenesses about Namjoon, but I want to bring attention to when he randomly decides to dance in the background when Jungkook is singing. This could be indicative of an increase in excitement that made him unable to stand still. Dancing can be a stim too! And a fun one! I want to note how his movements were slightly unco-ordinated and he slipped on something easily seen. When you’re stimming sometimes you don’t notice things that are easy to notice, because you’re outputting and your brain prioritises it over other things such as spatial awareness. This ties in well with the next thing I wanted to talk about with Namjoon, so I shall move on now!    
  
Do I believe that Namjoon displays autistic features? Very very minimally. I’d much sooner feel more comfortable saying that Namjoon has features of sensory processing conditions, which would tie in perfectly with my next theory regarding him, as the two are interconnected quite frequently. **  
** **  
** **Dyspraxia (a.k.a my theory into why he’s the God of Destruction)** **  
** If you’ve been ARMY for long enough you know that Namjoon has been named the God of Destruction. He accidentally breaks things, trips over things, is generally a clumsy guy. Some haven’t questioned it and just accepted that he’s just clumsy, whereas others are curious as to how Namjoon is capable of such destruction. Indeed, I myself have noticed that all his incidents aren’t fully equatable to someone who’s just clumsy, but rather I felt there was something else underlying. When I was sitting thinking about it one day, that was the exact moment my older brother, who has Dyspraxia, broke an old plastic toy right in front of me, in a manner that I didn’t even understand how he managed it. That’s when it clicked to me, and I started observing and researching. Dyspraxia, very much more commonly diagnosed in children, shares the same beginning as Dyslexia and Dyscalculia, but is very much a more physically outputting condition. Dyspraxia is defined in my country’s National Health website as “ Developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD), also known as dyspraxia, is a condition affecting physical co-ordination. It causes a child to perform less well than expected in daily activities for their age, and appear to move clumsily. ” You may note that I have taken the definition from the web page about children with the condition, merely because it is summarised better, but please note that: “the condition often causes continued problems into adulthood.” 

  
Another thing to note is that “DCD is thought to be around 3 or 4 times more common in boys than girls.” ([https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/developmental-coordination-disorder-dyspraxia/](https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/developmental-coordination-disorder-dyspraxia/) \- The web page for DCD in children)  
  
Due to us not knowing too much about Namjoon as a child, let us move on to what the page says on adults with DCD:  
([https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/developmental-coordination-disorder-dyspraxia-in-adults/](https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/developmental-coordination-disorder-dyspraxia-in-adults/))  
  
“Dyspraxia does not affect your intelligence, but it may make daily life more difficult for you. It can affect your co-ordination skills – such as tasks requiring balance, playing sports or learning to drive a car – and your fine motor skills, such as writing or using small objects.”  
  
Now, I wish to stem away slightly from the rest of that page, as the symptoms described are very common for someone with severe dyspraxia, ergo not matching my own personal idea of where his own would sit. I believe he has a very mild or partial recovered dyspraxia. What can that be put down to? Actually, I would say... his dancing! You may think that this condition may negatively affect his ability to dance, and perhaps without focus (such as, say, his freestyle/joke dancing where he is indeed usually rather un-coordinated and stumbly and it’s so cute tbh-) he might struggle. Consider, perhaps, his dance practise and focus in dancing a form of physical therapy. With upkeeping his fitness, it helps too! My brother who is now nearly 30 maintained his fitness and participated in sport and martial arts during childhood and teenage years, essentially changing his condition to the point where his coordination is mostly perfect, bar being slightly heavy-footed and with a slightly unique walking style. My brother also has a lot of stims and deals with overexcitable tendencies, and as such I find it very fascinating how much he can actually parallel Namjoon’s little quirks. My brother has no diagnosis of ASD, nor would warrant getting one, however due to everything being interconnected with that diagram and genetics being sometimes conducive to being neurodivergent, he has an autistic sibling (me) with ADD features and dyscalculia and about 5 cousins with dyslexia. If that helps to put things into perspective a bit.  
  
Some clips:  
[https://youtu.be/hemHQ00Qv5Y?t=117](https://youtu.be/hemHQ00Qv5Y?t=117)   
Starting at 1:56, we see Yoongi say that when him and Namjoon met, Namjoon still couldn’t tie his shoelaces. This is where my theories with DCD really sprung up. Simple things that people learn from youth can take those with neurodivergent conditions such as ASD and DCD and sensory processing / information processing disorders longer to learn.


	3. Kim Seokjin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A summarisation of Kim Seokjin's ND moments with a little splash of medical contribution for good measure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much like how I've expressed before that I am not placing diagnosis on any of the boys, I must re-itterate it again with Jin and the Hyperextention notes. Symptoms are not always immediately inducive to a singular diagnosis, and may very well be something else, or nothing at all. 
> 
> Please keep this in mind when reading this! Thank you <3
> 
> Also, I'd like to apologise for uploading again after such a gap - a lot has been going on in my personal life, and I'm trying my best to just work through it all. 
> 
> Also please be patient with my poor editing skills I have barely any idea how Ao3 works lol

**Mental Health  
**  
I am going to leave just a small note here about Jin's mental health. I think it's very clear to see that Jin portrays himself in a way he wants others to see, and therefore he is participating in a form of masking. He has said he "should show ARMY a more happy side to himself" and said to himself to work to show a happier side to us. It therefore goes without saying that he may experience difficulties with moments of poor mental health, but that he has made it clear that he doesn't exactly want to go into that with us. So I shall respect his wishes and leave it at that. All I do know, is that he is not in any immediate danger to himself or others, and that, just like every other human, he experiences highs and lows, and that that's okay.  
  
 **Tics**   
I must say, I am very surprised people do not notice this more, but Kim Seokjin has VERY prominent tics. Tourette's syndrome? I doubt he would receive a diagnosis actually, which brings me to an important point - not everyone with tics has Tourette’s syndrome. On top of this - people who were before considered totally neurotypical can DEVELOP tics, without any other condition developing. People who have noticed Jin’s tics have had theories, and I believe I’ve pieced together parts of fans’ that fits best: During Jin’s debut years, for a long time, Jin used contact lenses that hurt his eyes, and caused him massive discomfort. In amidst the stress of trying to manage his debut and then after a few years his uprising popularity, taking care of the other members as his responsibility as hyung, studying a degree, perfecting his abilities and dealing with opinions on him left, right and centre, the amount of stress him and his fellow members were in during their first few years is probably immeasurable. That, mixed with the need to do well masked damage control on his eyes amidst shows, performances, etc, has led to a tic that has stayed well beyond staff changing his contacts to ones that appear to be more comfortable, and lessening his requirement to wear them. Whenever stressed, these tics play back up. If you look into it, members say that Jin blinks quite heavily, particularly in his left eye, when he’s hungry. This may link back to a time that has ingrained in his subconscious of a time where he was very hungry and his left contact was causing him considerable pain and/or discomfort. This is likely to be in the middle of a show or performance, as masking something, unfortunately, can have unseen effects on the subconscious. This type of tic can also be solidified if his subconscious pieces together his actions with a fast relief of the pain/discomfort. Perhaps his continuous blinking towards the end of the show and the fast relief of taking off the contact and getting food as soon as the cameras were off, or having a lovely night after that, can further solidify the brain’s need to portray this tic when similar feelings/sensations are triggered. Jin will notice these tics are happening, but have no way to control them.   
  
Here I shall stop to provide some clips:   
https://youtu.be/ctyygBNK1OU   
_I cannot describe how much I hate the title and music of this clip, but I have tried so hard to find where the first clip is from and to no luck. I implore you to mute the music, and just watch his facial tics. They’re very prominent in this, however, because I can see from their hair etc that this is slightly early on, there is a chance that he is wearing contacts in this. Despite that, even with contacts in, it’s become clear his tics have been implemented into his system, and the tics may show to deal with the problem that caused them in the first place._   
  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzS5g9UldGY   
_This is a good example of when he is clearly not wearing contacts, as none of them are exactly kitted out for performance. It’s probable that they gathered after a practice to react to this. It’s possible his tics are showing due to hunger. I would also like to note particular tics I noticed: Rapid eye blinking (common tic), the sides of his mouth pulling up one side after another, his neck even seems to have tics too, with his head pushing down lightly and his neck sticking out, his head tilting to the side as his neck twitches lightly, and his chin jutting up as his neck twitches (those appear to be 3 different tics). I do believe I saw rather heavy neck tics in another clip somewhere, but I as of yet haven’t located it. This clip also shows what I’d like to point out in my last sentence, in that Jin probably notices his tics, can’t control them, and just kinda… pretends it isn’t there. He doesn’t focus on his tics, he focuses on talking with the members and watching the video. It seems it’s probably something they’ve talked about and moved on from, just like the other members’ quirks._   
  
[  
](https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ehlers-danlos-syndromes/)**Hyperextention**

Despite solidifying myself mainly in psychology now, I did study medical sciences for about 4/5 years at college level, and before that in high school and primary I was heavily fascinated with all manner of medical conditions, not just psychological ones. I just personally felt my skills were better put to use in the psychological realm, but I have many years ahead of me to perhaps dip back into medical sciences in, say, my mature years, or if I wanted a change in career. So here is where I digress a little to point out a feature that isn’t psychological, but physical - Hyperextension. This is a very fascinating aspect of Jin’s body, most people notice it first within his fingers, that they hyperextend. What is Hyperextension?  
Hyperextension, put simply, is the ability to extend your limbs from your joints to a more severe degree/angle than the average, for example, when most people pull their arm out flat, it’s a straight line out to your hand. A hyperextension, however, the arm is pushed out more, their hand essentially being capable of reaching lower than the shoulder and lower than the elbow joint by a lot.   
  
  
How does this present in Jin?   
As we can see here, Jin’s hands present hyperextension in what is called a “Swan Neck Deformity” **:  
  
  
** A swan neck deformity looks like so **:  
** **[https://www.3pointproducts.com/hs-fs/hubfs/SwanNecklabel-3.jpg?width=241&name=SwanNecklabel-3.jpg](https://www.3pointproducts.com/hs-fs/hubfs/SwanNecklabel-3.jpg?width=241&name=SwanNecklabel-3.jpg)**

Swan neck deformities are caused by a pulling on the tendons (little pieces of muscle) within the fingers, causing them to pull up, and with continual pulling up, it can cause it to bend to the sides, as we’ve seen in Jin’s fingers a little. This Physiotherapy diagram not only how to exercise and induce therapy to it, but also stresses the point that causes it: **  
<https://mysurgeryabroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/trigger_finger_causes.gif>   
  
**

Now, we’ve seen two things on Jin’s fingers over the course of his career, and I want to take a moment to explain 1) what hyperextension can cause and 2) what these tapings and splints were and what they help.   
  
Just like how someone without any condition in their fingers might bend their fingers too far back and get injured, people with conditions that cause hyperextension will experience injury too! Sprains are very common in people with hyperextension-causing conditions, and Jin has experienced some before. One we saw Jin in tapings such as the “buddy tape” where one finger is taped to the other. People commonly associate this with a finger break, however typically with broken fingers a large piece of hard plastic or wood and heavier bandaging than what we saw would be present to absolutely minimise further breaking and help healing in place (such has the huge bandaging we saw on Namjoon when he broke his finger.) Instead we saw simple taping as such:  
<https://coreem.net/content/uploads/2017/03/Buddy-Taping-Andrade.png>[  
](https://coreem.net/content/uploads/2017/03/Buddy-Taping-Andrade.png)I actually find find any clips or pictures when he wore taping like this, but I assure you, I have seen it on him before.He also wore finger splints for a short while too. I’m sure this was the time where Jin explained he got hurt playfighting with Taehyung. Therefore I believe he probably accidentally pushed his finger back and that mixed with hyperextension caused injury.

  
Here is a clip of thumb taping, and with information known that Jin’s thumb also hyperextends, it’s possible that at some point he has also received this treatment.   
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EweA1K8gkTs&feature=emb_logo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EweA1K8gkTs&feature=emb_logo)  
  
He’s also worn these splints before (but right now I can’t find any source that shows it either. <https://www.orfit.com/app/uploads/Orficast-Ottobock4.jpg>   
These splints can help prevent further injury, but they’re also worn to PREVENT the type of hyperextension that causes the swan neck deformity, otherwise known as a PIP hyperextension. We have seen Jin wear a similar thing that has the same function, seen here:   
https://pm1.narvii.com/6601/bd4a42123b9c6fc45c2aa2b949b8afe37dda1990_hq.jpg   
  
Let’s take a look at clips that show off features of hyperextension:  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMpw3TAQZkQ (this highlights his flexibility which is common in those with hyperextension - makes for many fun party tricks!)  
I’d like to give a big shoutout to Kaddarin on ARMY Amino to give an interesting and definitely more in-depth read into Jin’s hyperextension. I shall link it here  
https://aminoapps.com/c/btsarmy/page/blog/bts-x-medical-conditions-jins-fingers/J8kM_D8QhduDG8wormxMB50kV66w3zaen   
  
One thing you may be wondering is: O Dear Author, what causes the hyperextentions to happen in Jin? The answer? We’ll probably never know. People have tried to pin conditions on why Jin’s body is like this, and that’s about as effective as throwing darts with a blindfold on. People have considered Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome - however what is often failed to mention is that there are 15 different types, all very rare and inherited, many of which present with far more extreme pains and symptoms than what Jin presents. I am of personal belief that Jin does NOT have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, but perhaps I may be wrong. People also tie the word ‘Hypermobility’ to Jin’s hyperextension, of which I am also hesitant to do. Hypermobility is a rather vague term, as is hyperextension, both are typically used as an umbrella term for something far more specific, and in this situation, seems to be something specific we may never know. Hypermobility is also paired often with frequent, in many cases daily, aches and pains that inhibit or hinder active daily functioning. If Jin was to have hypermobility, he’s either masking his pain very well (which I would not be surprised about but it’s unlikely), or he has a very mild version of it that presented in a less mild hyperextension and deformity, which just… doesn’t add up to me. However, again, I may be wrong, and please do not read into my words too much. The people who will know best are Jin's doctors.   
  
Here’s a information website on EDS: <https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ehlers-danlos-syndromes/>   



End file.
